Picking and Storing Your Recipes

My husband is guilty.

He brings home recipes torn from everywhere.

And I know he is like all of you out there...

But, you see, he is a cook...so he has access to loads of recipes.

"This looks fun!"

"This one will taste awesome!"

"Wow looks tasty!"

The funny part is he has no intention of making these recipes.

He just hoards them.

Like I know we are all guilty of from time to time.

I don't know about you...but couldn't take it anymore.

So I have come up with a system!

A SYSTEM FOR CHOOSING TO KEEP A RECIPE

First, you have to be honest.

Pick a recipe you will ACTUALLY make.

If you don't normally make meals like the one in the recipe...chances are you won't start now.

If you have never tried Indian food...don't grab a recipe first...try it in a nice safe restaurant.

THEN you know what you're shooting for 

BEFORE you shell out a ton of money on weird ingredients you may never use again.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be brave and try new things.

I'm only suggesting you bring it back to reality.

Second, price out any ingredients that you don't already have.

If you need to spend $20 on saffron and it only calls for 2 threads...pass.

If you don't already have the staples to build your recipe...

you need to ask yourself if the price of buying new ingredients is worth it.

Third, if you already have a wad of recipes flying around your house...

gather them up and try sorting through them using the above method.

You will be thinning down your mess.

You will be brutally honest about your cooking intentions.

You will get the recipe paper beast under control.

You'll feel like a superhero.

(okay...maybe not...but getting rid of piles and waste always make me feel good)

For me, I had to reel in our obsessive need to keep every recipe that ever crossed our path.

(The same method was applied to our cookbooks too.)

When I grab a recipe I like, it usually has to meet a few prerequisite standards:

1 - at least 2 foods that I grow

2 - involves pantry and fridge staples I already purchase in bulk.

3 - no more than 1 ingredient has to be newly purchased (preferably none)

***************

MY 2-FOLD SYSTEM FOR STORING RECIPES

PRE TESTING

So now you have some recipes.

There are probably a billion storage solutions on Pinterest right now.

Here is what I do:

I label my folders based on the main ingredient.

 I have folders like "Tomatoes", "Fish and Game", "Zucchini", "Foraging" etc.

You can use any labelling system that works for you.

For example:

• Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snacks.
• Slowcooker, Oven, Microwave
• Pork, Beef, Fish, Veggies
• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc
• Raw, Vegetarian, Paleo, Dairy free
• Entertaining, Home meals, Work meals

POST TESTING

Once I make a recipe, and decide it is a hit...I move it to the BINDER.

I have a binder full of plastic page protectors.

There are magazine recipes, handwritten ones, forwarded emails from friends.

All of our beloved family favorite recipes are in the BINDER.

Now, with this system, Handsome Husband can still find the recipe for 

Gramma BJ's Johnny cake...even when I'm not at home.

I have yet to organize the BINDER itself...that will be another post for sure.

How do you store your recipes?

Cookbooks through the ages....

Have you ever come into some "free stuff"?
I mean, has someone ever showed up on your door saying "Hey, I've got this stuff I don't want anymore...you want it?".  Free, no charge, absolutely gratis?

A friend of ours is a great source of "free stuff".

He is able to get some pretty bizarre stuff too.

Once, he came to us asking if we could use an antique chick warmer....cast iron...

Among other things, he has brought  free fence pieces, an antique camping lantern, a weed whipper, 5 boxes of mason jars, canned goods, a chainsaw...in short...this man is a treasure.

He knows such a cross section of people, that his knowledge and resources are broad.

A family friend of his died recently...leaving her husband to get rid of a lots of stuff before he down sizes into a retirement villa somewhere.  We were gifted 3 boxes of cookbooks.

That is how I came across some of the oldest cookbooks I've ever seen.

I thought I would share some of the most interesting of the bunch...and there were lots, trust me...

The above cookbook must be some sort of classic, circa 1964.

Every proper American household wouldn't be caught without its box of Bisquick.

Personally, I've never used Bisquick...not sure why...but I'm sure there is a good reason.

The title of the above cookbook was enough to make me do a double take and read on past the front cover.  "Cook not mad?!?!  What the heck is this all about..." I caught myself thinking.

Rational Cookery refers to extending your valuable ingredients for large families.

Often times, the average Pioneer family would have 5-6 children at any given time.  Add to that mix, any hired hands that also lived on the property.

People travelling in the back woods would stop in and ask for overnite lodging and a meal.

Figure your harvest would have to feed up to 10 people at any given meal.

The above book is a reprint of Canada's first published cookbook.

Reprinted in 1972, the original was first published in 1831...there is much more than cooking advise in these pages.  Inside there are tips for dying woolen and linen fibres,

common recipes for sickness, how to make bread in a clay flower pot

(which you know i'll be trying one of these days),

drying and preserving flowers and plants, how to get stains and mould out of cloth and

how to dress a calf's head (which I won't be trying...ever).

This little gem was published in 1963.

Apparently "teens" needed help planning an appropriate menu to serve when having a gathering.

Thank goodness Five Roses Flour Co. is here to help!

Inside are several themes including Boston Bean Bash, Pizza Platter Party, Mexican Dude Party and a "Kookie" Cookie Party for a sleepover with the girls.

Each theme includes an appetizer, a main dish and either a dessert or a beverage to serve.

There's even a contest at the back...if you win, you'll be crowned "The Young Baking Champion of 1963" and receive a $1500.00 educational grant.

There was also a baking questionnaire in order to qualify for the contest.

I have to admit...I couldn't answer half the questions...

This booklet struck me as a collection of college food...

It's extremely basic and trusting the average reader's kitchen consists of ketchup, salt and pepper.

This one is circa 1958 and features a cake and dessert section larger than the main dish section.

The best part is the beverage section!!!

Inside this leaflet are recipes for Cherry pink float, Chocolate marble float and Spicy mocha float.

The only disturbing thing is that every recipe uses the product called PET instant (which by the inside cover advertisement implies it is a milk powder).

A truly rare find...a Robin Hood Flour recipe leaflet from the War Ration era.

Basically this book displays every conceivable way you can extend meat with flour products.

Tons of dessert crumbles and meat loaf recipes.

No date attached to this pamphlet...but, when I searched Google,

articles came up in the Ottawa Citizen dating back to 1943. 

A preserve cookbook straight from the masters, Consumers Glass Co Ltd.

Sadly the pages with the pickle recipes was stuck together...of course.

No published date was listed, but a quick online search reveals Dominion Glass Co Ltd began in 1913 but eventually changed its name to Consumers Glass in 1989.

A friend of mine recently took a college program called Sustainable Agriculture.

Basically this is a course for people who want to run their own small scale farm or who already have a farm and want to operate it more efficiently.

She told me about a unit on jarring & pickling.  She warned me about the dangers of using a recipe that has not come from a safe source...meaning, a reputable source...not necessarily from your old Aunt Martha.

The problem you face is f you don't get the measurements or procedures correct,

you could be in for a hefty helping of botulism.

The only way to avoid this problem, if to get recipes from "Trustworthy Sources".

Bernardin fits the bill.  So does Consumers Glass.

This cookbook was dedicated to the Essex Methodist Church.

In memoriam, as the church was destroyed in 1907...same year as the cookbook was published.

There is a wonderful forward all about the hardworking ladies of this church.

The back page has an ad for Salada Tea out of Toronto.

Is it weird that I have a Salada tea box in my basement holding blankets?

The phone number listed is only 4 digits long....

Unknown published date...but seriously?

There are repeated ads for Zam-buk soap that cures everything from eczema to

frostbite to cold sores.  Zam buk dates back to 1906 but is still produced and used today in South Africa.   
Pep is also advertised within...for colds and coughs.

It didn't come to me with a cover...

so I have no idea what this publication is called or where it came from.

Front cover

Back cover

No indication as to who published this or when.
A simple handbook on how to do loads of things, not just cooking, much like the Cook Not Mad book.
The back cover reveals at least the advertising comes from Sharbot Lake.
Another quick search reveals that Chamberlain's Cough Remedy dates back to the early 1900's.

I had to finish off with something I found in our own cookbook collection.

(Of course I had to clear some out in order to make room for the new additions)

Now that I've found this classic...I just might enjoy next summer a touch more!

Does anyone else like historical cookbooks?
(or is it just me...)

Hamburger...the Never ending Story

I love an odd cookbook.

I have so many of them...

It's like a fixation really.

I managed to pare the collection down when we moved into 

our current home.

I was not going to be the one with 100 boxes of cookbooks.

No way.

One of the books I knew I'd be keeping is shown below...

Behold!

Published in 1960...this cookbook holds no less than 38 pages of meatball recipes alone!

Meatloaves, burgers, casseroles, soups and sauces.

One of the things I love about this book is that there are specific recipes for up to 100 people.

Not all cookbooks do that, incidentally.

So the other night I figured I would thumb through it and

find a meatball recipe.

I had some ground beef leftover and couldn't really figure 

what to make with it.

I stumbled across Danish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes.

2 lbs hamburger

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 tsp ground nutmeg

2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix all ingredients and form into 1 1/2 in balls.

Roll the meatballs in 2/3 cup flour seasoned with 1/4 salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper.

Brown on all sides in 1/4 cup cooking oil.

Add 1 cup beef stock and 1 bay leaf.

Cover and simmer for 30 mins.

Remove meatballs and set aside.

Blend in 3 tbsp flour and brown. 

Stir in 1 1/2 cup bouillon.

Cook, stirring constantly, until medium thick.

Serve meatballs and gravy with mashed potatoes harvested from our garden.

The end result was a warm yummy dish.

The nutmeg made a beautifully different gravy.

I served this dish with a side of green and yellow beans 

and peas frozen from our garden harvest.

This meal was perfect after a day of yard work on a cold afternoon.

It certainly balanced out the sight of our pond frozen!

We don't eat a ton of red meat...but when we do, we do enjoy the comfort and flavour.

When you buy local meat, you can be sure of the quality.

(Compared to those factory facilities who sell to grocery stores)

Plus, this is a great way to make your grocery dollars go farther!

Stay tuned for more ways to prepare hamburger...for those aficionados of hamburger everywhere.

What is your standard cooking bible?

Let's get to know our blogger, shall we?

Seriously, I've been getting asked questions on my facebook group and page.
I thought I would answer some of them publicly.
Hope it helps shed some light on me as well as knowledge to you.

I have been asked which standard cookbooks I typically use for everyday items.

To be perfectly honest, up until recetly, I sucked at cooking and didn't enjoy it.

I thought that someone like me just scored when I married a trained cook.

What they don't tell you, is that someone who does something for a living is NOT going to want to do it when they come home from work.... 

The fact that I don't enjoy preparing food collides with the realization that one must prepare food if one wants to survive and be healthy.

Since I had no interest in learning to cook in my youth, I floundered with my health and suffered for years because of it.  Too much processed food and fast food options caused numerous trips to the emerg with random ailments related to too much refined sugar and not enough fruit and vegetables in my diet.

In terms of cooking for my family, I believe that as long as its home made, I can make a more nutritous, balanced diet while controlling the ingredients and preservatives that enter our systems.

Since my cooking education was pretty much starting from the beginning...I thought I better have

a guide on how to do the most basic things in cooking and baking.

In my husband's extensive cookbook collection, I found my salvation.

I could not live without the following cooking manual:

I say cooking manual because this isn't just a collection of recipes.

The above book is a collected work of the most basic recipes and techniques for a multitude of cultures and cuisines.

The go-to recipes I use in this text are the following:

-apple crisp

-basic rolled biscuits

-any kind of meat I haven't cooked before...this book talks about how to prepare most cuts of meat in a variety of ways

-pancakes from scratch

-spazel

My husband is more familiar with the cook book text book from his college days:

This tome intimidates me...so I prefer to stick with something more published for the masses.

My sister swears by the Fanny Farmer cookbook from our childhood.

Everyone has their standard...or if not...you really should invest in one.

Hit a local bookstore and search the cookbook section.

Ask a relative.

See if the book has recipes with which you are accustomed.

While I find that the internet is fantastic for searching for new recipes with old ingredients,

but there is something to be said for the old stand-by you reach for when you need something familiar.

For example, we made ribs the other night

(which is something I never used to make, but its quickly becoming a family favorite)

and needed a side dish.

Page 17 of the Joy of Cooking illustrates ideas for whole menus.

I found a section on what goes great with BBQ...and I found hushpuppies.

The Joy Of Cooking usually has a short blurb before the actual nitty-gritty of the recipe.

This one was no exception:

As found in The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer:

Hushpuppies

Fishermen used to fry this savory corn batter in the same lard as the catfish.  (which was funny when, upon smelling the hushpuppies in the frying pan, my husband thought I was making fish).  Legend has it that they threw some to the clamorous dogs with the admonition "Hush, puppy". 

mix together in a bowl:

1 2/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp ground black pepper *

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/8 red pepper*

whisk together in another bowl:
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk**
1/2 grated onions***

*i used a bit more than a tsp of mixed red, white, green and black peppercorns
** i used  milk, but would probably try cream next time
*** i used chopped onions

• add to the cornmeal mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened.
• heat 1 in of veg oil or shortening in a skillet
• use a tablespoon to measure out and gently drop the batter in the oil
• adjust the heat so that each side becomes golden brown and crispy in approx 60 sec
• use a slotted spoon to flip them over and repeat on opposite side
• transfer to baking sheet lined with paper towl and keep warm in a 200 degree C oven
• repeat with remaining batter

Serve warm - Goes great with BBQ!

BBQ Ribs with Green beans and Hushpuppies

These babies ended up tasting like a deep fried corn bread biscuit.
Great dipped in the home made BBQ sauce, but
VERY HIGH IN FAT.
Definitely different, but I'm not so sure how often I'd be serving these up
for health reasons.



What is YOUR standard cooking bible?
(and what do you use it for mostly?)